The role of the private sector in regional economic recovery: the case of a middling district in Middle England

As the policies of the UK’s new coalition government unfold, it appears that the private sector will take the bulk of the responsibility for sustaining economic recovery. In order to understand the implications for local economies, this paper highlights areas of growth potential and the barriers that business-owners are encountering. Based on a postal survey of businesses in the study area of Newark and Sherwood, a representative rural district in a middling region, research has identified that the majority of firms are still planning to grow despite significant concerns over investment finance and working capital. Furthermore, 17% say that they will definitely recruit new full time staff within 2 years while a further 36% are considering it. This paper expands on these findings and also explores the skills needs and barriers that are preventing growth from being realised. The aim is to provide policy guidance to support the development of local economies emerging from recession and to consider the longer terms implications of the characteristics of local labour markets

The relationship between rurality, skills and productivity in the East Midlands: summary

This summary report sets out the findings of research into the relationship between rurality, skills and productivity in the East Midlands. The report has been prepared by the Enterprise Research and Development Unit (ERDU) at the University of Lincoln on behalf of the East Midlands Development Agency (emda). The full report, which includes the detailed data analysis that underpins the findings set out in this report, is available separately

The relationship between rurality, skills and productivity in the East Midlands: final report

This report sets out the findings of research into the relationship between rurality, skills and productivity in the East Midlands. The report has been prepared by the Enterprise Research and Development Unit (ERDU) at the University of Lincoln on behalf of the East Midlands Development Agency (emda)

Ionised deposition for the structural control of carbon nickel thin films

Carbon encapsulated metal nanoparticles are an increasingly important class of materials due to the wide range of electronic, magnetic and mechanical properties they display. However, traditional deposition techniques are often complex or lead to a poor quality film. Ionised magnetron sputter deposition is a promising development to traditional magnetron sputtering which combines film deposition with ion bombardment. By adding an RF powered, inductively coupled plasma positioned between the deposition targets and the substrate, the ionisation fraction of the depositing flux is greatly increased. This additional ion flux can then be controlled through the use of an electrical substrate biasing. This controls the energy flux to the surface and therefore the resulting microstructure. Carbon-nickel thin films were grown by ionised magnetron sputter deposition. The films themselves were characterised using a wide variety of techniques to measure not only their structure but their properties. Additionally, the inductively coupled plasma itself was characterised using a Langmuir probe. It was determined that upon application of a negative substrate biasing, the ion flux to the growing film remained constant, however the energy of the species increased. This resulted in a columnar structure of nickel carbide which coarsened as the bias (and therefore the energy of the ions) was increased. Conversely the application of a positive bias gives a large flux of low energy bombardment. This led to the formation of metallic nickel nanoparticles (≈ 30 nm diameter) which were surrounded by several layers of ordered graphitic shells forming a so-called "nano-onion" structure. The transition between these phases is a result of an increase in adatom mobility when there is a high flux, low energy ion bombardment which allows the nickel and carbon to phase separate. Upon separating, the nickel templates graphite growth due to their similar bond lengths leading to the formation of the graphitic cages. The transition between these two structures is measured through X-ray diffraction which shows a transition from the hexagonal carbide phase to the cubic nickel phase. This is accompanied by an increase in ordering of the carbon as the bias is increased as measured by Raman spectroscopy. Additionally, it is observed that there is an increase in carbon ordering when a negative bias is applied, due to the additional energy from ion bombardment leading to graphite formation. Magnetic measurements showed a transition from a non-magnetic state when the structures were largely carbide, to a magnetic state when metallic. However at room temperature the structures display superparamagnetic behaviour due to the small size of the particles. Measurements of electronic conductivity showed a negative temperature coeffcient of resistivity for all samples demonstrating no metallic conduction path was present. A large drop in resistivity as the temperature increases was assigned to thermally activated conduction. At low temperatures the conductivity is dependent on tunnelling across small regions of amorphous carbon, while at higher temperatures it is possible to excite the electrons into a conduction band allowing them to conduct more easily

What is the best workup for hypocalcemia?

Unexplained hypocalcemia can usually be diagnosed by a limited number of serum tests when the cause isn't obvious from the history (recent neck surgery or renal failure): calcium corrected for serum albumin); creatinine; phosphorus; magnesium; parathyroid hormone (PTH). The most common causes, categorized according to the results of these tests, are (strength of recommendation: C, expert opinion, case series, and physiologic principles): high PTH, high phosphorus, and high creatinine: renal failure; high PTH, low or normal phosphorus, and normal creatinine: vitamin D deficiency or pancreatitis; low PTH, high phosphorus, and normal creatinine: inadequate parathyroid gland function or hypomagnesemia

Working Futures 2017-2027 : Long-run labour market and skills projections headline report

This report provides a concise overview of Working Futures 2017-2027 results for the UK. It presents historical trends and future prospects by sector for the UK and its constituent nations and the English regions. The prime focus of Working Futures is on the demand for skills as measured by employment by occupation and qualification, although the supply side is also considered. Its prime objective is to provide useful labour market information that can help to inform policy development and strategy around skills, careers and employment, for both policy makers and a much wider audience. The results are intended to provide a sound statistical foundation for reflection and debate among all those with an interest in the demand for and supply of skills. It is aimed at the general reader and focuses on the key messages from this very detailed study. It complements the more detailed outputs and results from the project available from the gov.uk website2 and cover sectors, occupations, geography and qualifications

Visual attention for linguistic and non-linguistic body actions in non-signing and native signing children

Evidence from adult studies of deaf signers supports the dissociation between neural systems involved in processing visual linguistic and non-linguistic body actions. The question of how and when this specialization arises is poorly understood. Visual attention to these forms is likely to change with age and be affected by prior language experience. The present study used eye-tracking methodology with infants and children as they freely viewed alternating video sequences of lexical American sign language (ASL) signs and non-linguistic body actions (self-directed grooming action and objectdirected pantomime). In Experiment 1, we quantified fixation patterns using an area of interest (AOI) approach and calculated face preference index (FPI) values to assess the developmental differences between 6 and 11-month-old hearing infants. Both groups were from monolingual English-speaking homes with no prior exposure to sign language. Six-month-olds attended the signer’s face for grooming; but for mimes and signs, they were drawn to attend to the “articulatory space” where the hands and arms primarily fall. Eleven-montholds, on the other hand, showed a similar attention to the face for all body action types. We interpret this to reflect an early visual language sensitivity that diminishes with age, just before the child’s first birthday. In Experiment 2, we contrasted 18 hearing monolingual English-speaking children (mean age of 4.8 years) vs. 13 hearing children of deaf adults (CODAs; mean age of 5.7 years) whose primary language at home was ASL. Native signing children had a significantly greater face attentional bias than non-signing children for ASL signs, but not for grooming and mimes. The differences in the visual attention patterns that are contingent on age (in infants) and language experience (in children) may be related to both linguistic specialization over time and the emerging awareness of communicative gestural acts

How do I sound to me? Perceived changes in communication in Parkinson's disease

Objective: To examine self and carer perceived changes in communication associated with Parkinson's disease and relate these to speech intelligibility, gender, age and other disease measures. Design: Cross-sectional survey of a hospital- and community-based sample of 176 people with Parkinson's disease and their carers using a questionnaire based on semantic differential techniques. Participants: One hundred and four people with Parkinson's disease with no history of communication difficulties prior to onset of their Parkinson's disease and 45 primary carers who returned completed questionnaires. Main outcome measures: Differences in ratings for `before' the onset of Parkinson's disease versus present status. Results: There was a strong perception of negative impact on communication between `before' and `now', irrespective of age and gender and largely independent of disease severity and duration, intelligibility and cognitive status. Activities of daily living (assessed by Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) II) and depression rating scale scores had the strongest association with change (adjusted R 2 0.27). There was a significant correlation between the rank order of perceived change in features examined in people with Parkinson's disease versus their carers, though in general carers rated change as having less impact. Conclusions: Parkinson's disease exercises a strong influence on communication even before apparent alterations to intelligibility or motor status

Effects of vegetation on methylmercury concentrations and loads in a mercury contaminated floodplain

The Yolo Bypass (YB) is a large flood conveyance system designed to protect the city of Sacramento, California, USA from flooding when the Sacramento River approaches flood stage. The Sacramento River watershed and YB are a source of methylmercury (MeHg) to downstream habitat as a result of historic mercury (Hg) and gold mining practices. In the dry season, the YB is extensively farmed and grazed. However, depending on the water year, the floodplain may remain inundated for months. Our experiments focused on the role of pasture land and decomposing vegetation as a source of MeHg during extensive periods of floodplain flooding. Decomposing vegetation, rather than sediment, was identified as the principal source of filter passing MeHg (fMeHg) within the floodplain. The decomposing vegetation provided a substrate for microbial methylation of inorganic Hg contained within the plants. In replicated flooded mesocosm experiments, MeHg concentrations increased from 2.78 to 31.0 ng g−1 dw and 3.41 to 56.8 ng g−1 dw in decomposing vegetation. In field collections, the concentrations of MeHg in vegetation increased from preflood levels of 2.78 to 45.4 ng g−1 dw after 17 weeks of flooding. The importance of vegetation was shown in laboratory experiments where there was a positive correlation between the amount of fMeHg in water and the amount of vegetation added. These results also provide Hg concentration data for an important functional type of vegetation, grasses, and fill a data gap that contributed to uncertainties with regards to the role of vegetation in Hg cycling